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I'm trying to track down an anonymous West Coast folk-rock singer of that era from a YouTube upload of a 50 year old demo tape. Please have a quick listen. If you like it, and wish to participate in helping to solve this mystery, please read on! Ignore the comments below the video. There's lots of ignorant assumptions from young-uns, conjecture which has already been debunked.
The Lyrics
Verse She was born on a magic island There's a certain mythology I was already on the outside I wanted to be what I wanted to be She took me to illumination night To pass on a legacy.
Chorus Crazy ladies in gingerbread houses Light the lanterns for the shipwrecked sailors Celebrate the homecoming Celebrate the moment when The will to live collides with love Lights the lanterns, everyone And pray that the rain won't come.
Bridge She left me with Grace the next year She went away, I don't know where Grace got drunk in a Chinese restaurant So all I saw were the lights extinguishing I'm going back on Illumination Night To see if I can light the lights
Chorus Crazy ladies in gingerbread houses Light the lanterns for the shipwrecked sailors Celebrate the homecoming Celebrate the moment when The will to live collides with love Lights the lanterns, everyone And pray that the rain won't come
---------
Real folk music tells tales. It connects cultures and times. It reminds us of past heroes and villains. If indeed this song is autobiographical, imho it deserves preserving, and the singer-songwriter and performers deserve recognition. I am convinced it was written and sung and recorded contemporary to the events portrayed in the lyrics by a mid to late 60s hippy chick who was trying to write and perform a simple and catchy folk-rock song within that era of spiritual idealism. I believe the song was a product of San Francisco, 1965-1970, before Haight Ashbury turned sour, before the spirit of Woodstock died.
Background to Its Discovery Since the song was first posted up on YouTube in 2020, many folks have been trying to nail the name of the female singer-songwriter, the backing players, the recording location and year for this song -- now dubbed "Light The Lanterns" by its internet sleuths. THE ONLY COPY, THE ONLY KNOWN RECORDING of the song was a cassette tape, found in a box, in a cupboard, in an empty LA office, in the mid 80s with "Demo -- Listen Today" scribbled on the label. No singer, no band, no recording date, not even the song name! It is, to me, (a troubadoring folk teen myself during that era) unarguably the SF sound of late 60s. Joel Selvin (75 yo music writer for the SF Chronicle 1970-2006), whom I wrote to, upon hearing it stated "pretty generic, 68-69". Who am I to argue? He was there! But he had no recollection of hearing the song or that voice.
Many have asked "Where exactly was it found". What address, what suburb? An old studio, radio station, agent's office, record company? We just don't know, and the finder can't remember, some 40 years later. He found a box of mixed cassette tapes about 1985, didn't open it for 15 years, digitised it around 2000 to HDD, threw out the cassette, and didn't upload it to YouTube till 2020 when it went viral as "The Third Most Mysterious Song on the Internet". So, 55 years later, it's still unidentified".
Investigating the Lyrics I have done extensive historical research into the lyrics, as well as their poetic allusions. But first I have to debunk the obvious.
Many people immediately jump to the obvious conclusion that it is about the famous Martha's Vineyard Illumination Night. Yes, some phrases have commonality. But the MV Historical Society has replied to innumerable inquiries "the story has no connection to here".
Another suggestion was to Alice Hoffman's novel "Illumination Night". But she too has stated that the song's story has no connection to her 1987 novel.
Another suggestion was a connection to a NC band Hazelwood, and their 1988 song Legacy, by singer Grace Griffith. But they have also disavowed any connection to the song.
I then hunted around elsewhere and hit upon some real life links to the story lyrics, but on the opposite coast.
* A woman called Delpha Atkinson was a homebirth born in 1927 on South East Farallon Island (SEFI), 40 kms off the coast of SF, known throughout history for its 400 shipwrecks and mythological history. Known as The Devils Teeth, and The Islands of the Dead by the Native American and Russian Kodiak seafarers, there are still gingerbread houses (1900s Gothic style) on the island. Delpha's mother was Grace Atkinson. The family lived on SEFI whilst Delpha's father was the lighthouse keeper there 1927-1931. He was then posted around to other CA lighthouses till his death in 1950 whilst serving at Point Cabrillo Lighthouse. I suspect that the Illumination Night was a memorial event for those times which died out soon after the song was written.
* There was a US Navy ship wrecked on SEFI in 1944. The SS Henry Bergh was a troop transport ship bringing 1400 soldiers back from the Pacific Theatre to SF. The crew and passengers were reported as "boisterously celebrating their homecoming so loudly the captain did not hear the SEFI foghorn and ran aground on The Devils Teeth in the fog".
* Another thing which rang bells for me was the Chinese restaurant reference. After all, SF's Chinatown was a big hub for alternatives in those days.
* And the phrase "... I wanted to be what I wanted to be ...". How typically 60s hippy-dippy is that!
So, the lyrics and the West Coast history seemed to match. But any leads towards the singer through the story's characters and events have since led to dead ends. So now we must turn our detective work to the music itself.
The Music I believe we are looking for a female solo singer/songwriter, not a band, who recorded her demo with session musos, to try to break into the music industry via radio play, an agent, or a recording company. I imagine she might have been playing the folk clubs in those years, maybe playing this song solo, just sitting on a stool, before trying for a recording break with an ensemble. She likely gave away demo cassettes to talent scouts, music agents, radio jocks in SF and LA (with a letter of introduction ... hence the annonymity of the tape with nothing but a hand-scribbled "Demo-Listen Today" on it).
But her recording efforts clearly came to nothing. Despite thousands of "... it sounds like ...", the voice has yet to be identified. Competition must have been fierce in those days. Everyone who sang and strummed back then dreamed of making it big. All the girls wanted to be a Joni Mitchell, a Joan Baez, a Grace Slick! But this singer might have left the scene, gone into motherhood, and/or since died. If she had later gone into a band, or developed a solo career, I doubt this song would have dissappeared, never to be reclaimed in 50 years, and someone would have recognised her voice by now.
How Can You Help? My current line of investigation is to cast around for anyone alive in those times who might actually recognise this voice from its day, a live performance of it, or the sound of any of the players behind her, such as:
* Old folk aficionados, folk club patrons of 1965 -1975. Come on, you must remember something from the 60s! I've read up about the famous but defunct SF folk clubs of the times, but found no contact for any living descendents. * Old West Coast recording engineers. Who could have recorded this? Where might the masters be? I've read up about the famous but now closed SF recording studios of the times, but found no contact for any living descendents. * Old session players -- the bass, the slide guitar, both stand out as quite accomplished. Someone must remember them! I mean, how many people played slide guitar like that in SF in 1968? * Was she maybe some else's backing singer trying to go solo? * Old radio jocks, agents, music historians.
The other thing which could help is a forensic production breakdown of the recording. Any sound engineers willing to give it a go? Exactly what instruments might be identified; how many tracks do you reckon might be used; what treatments are there? I'm hearing a Gibson semi-acoustic for both rythym and slide (so much like The Byrds), therefore only one guitarist. Some bassists I've asked say yes/no to a fretless. There's only the same singer's voice on background underneath harmonies. Conclusion, she had no-one else to add vocal layering. The drummer sounds like a sleepy leftover from the 50s
So thanks for reading this far, and any leads you might be able to provide.
The reason there's so much "tape hiss" is because I multi tracked the drums, bass, and rhythm guitar at home. Then, I bounced those trax down to make room for lead guitar and vox. I took my old Tascam 4trac over to my girlfriend's house to finish the recording in her mother's living room... plugged into the aux of her old Sansui stereo. Laura's Mom wrote the lyrics and always had high hopes for us lol...
Lemoore, CA 1982. I always wondered what happened to that tape
Tape hiss could be a clue of the dubbling process. One tape plays what was just recorded and you dub over that ...requires a double tape deck ...used to do that myself as a cheap multi track recorder..but oh that hiss.
...in which case Brian is likely right the ballpark with timing
I disagree... Both my parents are musicians. I've been ping-ponging cassettes and 4-tracking "with Radio Shack mics"(lol) for as long as I can remember. A bad recording can't hide a good song idea... or a good vocal!
80s punk was never known for great recording quality
I disagree... Both my parents are musicians. I've been ping-ponging cassettes and 4-tracking "with Radio Shack mics"(lol) for as long as I can remember. A bad recording can't hide a good song idea... or a good vocal!
80s punk was never known for great recording quality
I think the vocal is okay, not great, but in tune. That was most of the battle back then. No "studio" or "pro" musician was involved in this. Most likely the person who posted it just anonymously wanted their song to go viral. Suckers LOVE to romanticize finding this magical band. It is likely a redit user just slapped it up and loves the attention. I know it has happened before. In one of the most famous cases someone from their life spilled the beans. I would search for the article but don't care enough to bother.
There are so many millions of recordings like this one that a needle would be easy pickens in any hay stack by comparison. If someone or a solution comes forward, it is almost proof alone it was an inside job all along. Real mysteries like this don't get discovered without a scam underlying it in the first place. That or a liar will insist it is theirs. I bet someone makes a NEW recording of the same song, using whatever tech they need to sound as grungy.
There is nothing particularly bad about it, nor anything particularly great. It is something that most young bands could and have done countless (millions) of times in countries around the world. Ping ponging two cassettes to add "tracks" was done so many different ways that there's no way the origin will be found without an "insider" admitting to it. This guy is WAY too over invested, it would not surprise me at all if it was HIS song to start with, but he doth protest a little too much for that.
More likely he is smitten with the idea of SOMEONE ELSE figuring it out then HE plans to get kudos for going back to the community with the answer, which is super lame really. If he wants to know, HE needs to figure it out right?
He isn't too serious with his made up name. A legit person looking for an answer for REAL would always include his name and multiple contact methods right?
Mr. Swami just doesn't seem like a serious or honest broker at this point.
Just close my account Brian, remove my whole thread. You and some on this forum are so toxic that I feel like I need a shower to wash off this last week of my life.
As long as you understand that everyone here was just waiting for THIS...
Originally Posted by Swami
Brian, thanks for your well meaning response. But I have to take up arguments (just the once) against many of your points. To wit:
>>> I have listened to perhaps more music than any other human from more different artists, genres, countries and universes.<<<
Gosh, such omnipotence immediately bristles with chronic arogance. It is not a matter of breadth of listening history Brian, but specificity of period style, genre, place and recognition of this particular track/voice/players that I seek. I just can't believe anyone over 70 cannot recognise this as ~late 60s ~SF. Joel Selvin, 76yo, The SF Chronicle's music critic from 1970-2000 said it's "clearly generic 1968-1969 SF folk rock scene". And he should know. He was there. So who am I to argue.
>>>My opinion is this is circa 1986-1996 done on either a 4 track cassette recorder or far more likely a live band practice into a two track cassette recorder. Having recorded over 2000 songs in that era using that equipment including , it sounds pretty much like what results people were getting.
>>>It was the first surge of DIY recording gear. <<<
Not in 1986 it wasnt. Our schoolboy garage band collectively owned a Tascam 2340 (4 track, 4 chan x 7.5" reels) in 1972 (first out in 1968). We mixed and dubbed down to mono cassettes for demo distribution, exactly as I suspect for Light the Lanterns. Or a real studio was used for a 4 or maybe 8 track master which was then mixed down and copied for some demo cassettes.
>>> I first thought live practice tape (which it could be) but there is an effects pedal sound in the background which might indicate a separate track recording, but truthfully it sounds live. It sounds like a simple rough live band recording and I am pretty confident it is NOT session players (if it was, she got robbed). <<<
It is beyond comprehension that you imagine this was a live recording. Just too silly to discuss.
>>>To me this sounds like an amateur band, with a girlfriend singing ( I was in a LOT of those bands), or simply a pretty average singer fronting a rookie/hobbyist level band. <<<
That could indeed be true. But also, someone was the songwriter. Are you trying to tell me those poetic hippie lyrics were written in 1986-1996. Lol. And who in in their right mind would record such song demo in 86-96 hoping to break into commercial success. Don't make me laugh, Brian.
But, were it late 60s, as I maintain, session players need not have been virtuosos in that acoustic-to-electric folk crossover period. Take away their subsequent fame and growth -- Were the Beatles, the Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Dylan, Baez, Peter Paul & Mary anything but rookies in their early years? When I suggested session players, I imagined "cheapies" for an unheard-of young vocalist to cut a 3 min demo to hawk around talent agents. Besides, pro-sessionists do not play their complicated best unless the song requires it. This is a simple song with simple backing and production ... for the girl, imo.
What makes me think it is not a unified band, is that the chick singer is mixed right up front, with the lovely sensitive slide guitarist NOT playing guitar hero for his ego. SHE and the story and the supportive instrumental harmonies (and slidey bass) is the star.
Besides, I don't know, (or care), why you are judgjng, this track outside of what it actually is. I didn't ask you to like it, or grade it for Top 10, or pan its simplicity. I just wanted some links into its possible cultural history. In short, you've been bloody useless. You could just have posted "I'll pass your post on to some others who might help".
>>> I also think it could easily have been anywhere in the USA. <<<
So you "think" that. What evidence -- by ear or local storyline -- do you have to back up such an assertion? As well, if you consider the singer's accent, it's hardly Tennessee, Florida, NY, Texas, Boston, Idaho, Montana! I was told by a linguist it is classic "General American", (soft rhotic style) "a nondescript, possibly West Coast, but definitely pre Valley Girl influence".
>>>Additionally, I think the person who uploaded is enjoying the attention and has no reason to ruin it by coming forward. <<<
Again, you "think" that. Well, your unfounded suspicions do not match at all with the honest and sincere nature of the original uploader -- with whom I and others have emailed over the years about the tape's provenance. He is/was a musician but of a totally different style and instrumention to this track. He pulled down his original site years ago.
Fyi, noone gains from the attention of this song. It's has a small cult following on YouTube by lovers of the song. Also, if some mediocre chick singer-songwriter once wrote and recorded this, why would she not these days be self-producing her songs as an indie muso, like so other many wannabes. Your "thinking" is nonsensical.
>>>The song itself would never garner interest without the mystery and hype attached. Most of those "mystery" songs have been uploaded by the very people who first say "who is this" to get web hits, clicks and views.<<<
This is, once again, a cynical and unfounded supposition. Many folks have made such accusations about the Lost Wave mysterious songs over the years, and some may well be PR fake. But that does not make this one fake. And what exactly is your research proving "most of them"? You've debunked 50% of their claims, have you? Fyi, "Like the Wind", took some 17 years to solve from a single demo play on a German Radio station in 1983. The original writers and band members were astounded by their eventual discovery just last year. "Light the Lanterns" may have a similar fate ... or this singer may be long time dead.
>>>And if you think my initial claims are exaggerated, I would LOVE to meet the person who has even come close to what I have heard over the past 40 years!<<<
Un-fkn-believable Brian. Such chutzpah causes me to block any more unhelpful posts from you. I have explained and argued my case for some 4 years now against many doubters, and only want practical input to further objective research in a clearly defined direction. You are welcome NOT to join that search. In which case, don't piss in my pocket. I clearly stated "How Can You Help?" But no, you just shat on someone's sincere hobby project. So maybe your forum is not the place to expect any serious and helpful input to my research ... judging by the other nutty replies of the last few days. You are welcome to delete my post and my membership. I'm out.
And PS. I couldn't believe how quickly "my" thread got hijacked by a bunch of ADHDs into completely off-topic raves. I'm certainly not a forum nazi (I've run a few myself, so I understand the nature of topic entropy). But if that's the quality of member self-awareness and engagement ... it's sayonara.
YOU WERE BEING TESTED! YOU FAILED! AND THIS WAS ONLY YOUR SECOND POST!
You jumped the gun... You tipped your hand... Everything was fine and in good humor until you lost your cool... in only your second post.
You obviously came here intent upon stirring up $h!t... Congrats. Yes, please... take a shower... I can smell your manpussy from Alabama!
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